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“Where have you come from?"
It scrunches its face into a smile, its little eyes turned up as if sharing a secret joke with me. I feel magic on the wind.
The fox bounces out of my arms and skitters to a stop in front of me. It looks out into the darkness, its tail waving in swish emotions.
Out of the darkness steps a dour-looking gargoyle. H looks familiar, and for a second I wonder if he is related to Doyle.
“Onyx Rindara?”
“Most people just call me Nyx,” I answer automatically.
He nods as if that is a given. “Miss Nyx, we are holding a portal open for you.”
I clutch at the threshold. “I am not going back there.”
“You mistake our intention.” He steps forward, and he wore a three-piece suit that looks more government issue rather than fashion runway. “I am Gray Linden, the Director of Coventry Institute. We tracked down wild magic a few hours ago. There seems to be a ruin of ash that used to be the site of a mage council.”
I start shaking and the fox rubs against my legs. Crouching down, I scoop her up and hold her against my body. It works to comfort both of us. “I’m going to say again: I’m not going back there. I want nothing to do with the council.”
“There is nothing to go back to. Your home, as it was, is destroyed. The Mage Council is not what I would call on the up and up.”
He can say that again. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here because there is something that they had called out, something that we believe leaked into this world before you banished it. Your father invested in a lot of esoteric magic to create what looks like a ward or oubliette. And at this time, you are the only person who can access it. For your safety, I need for you to come with me and we can protect you at Coventry.”
I look back at my bond mates. “Absolutely not,” I say, without hesitancy. “I will not be separated from my mates.”
“You can come with us now, or you can run. However, please know that you are now a target for anyone wishing to have access to whatever has been bound in that oubliette.”
There’s a whole lot of creepy that’s been banished there over the years. And that’s just what I know. Who knows what my dad put in there before I was born?
“You say others are looking for it?”
“More like they’re looking for you, and closing in fast. Those shadows that are around you, that are keeping your mates asleep? That’s a warning. A harbinger of what will come. They’re almost here. I don’t think you will last until daybreak. Once they have you, they’ll have it.”
“Why can’t we wake them? Bring my mates with us? They’d also be a target.”
The gargoyle looks away. “Not when you’re gone. As soon as you leave, they’ll release your mates. We only have a few more minutes to keep this portal open. I swear to you, as soon as we can do so, we will open another one and bring your mates over as well.”
With one last look at my frozen lovers, I follow Gray Linden through a portal and into a bright white laboratory. “Welcome to the Coventry Institute.”
* * *
Thank you for reading “Firebrand.” This story is the first part of the MIST Division series, and exists in the same universe as the Coventry Institute and Bespelled Brews.
The first story in the Bespelled Brews series isOne Orcish Night,which was originally featured inMonsters in Love vol. 1: Lost in the Labyrinth.
It has been expanded and will release in April 2024
About Author
Hi, I’m Elle Cross, drinker of luxury coffee, equal-opportunity eater, ex-world traveler (paused for now, thanks pandemic!), user of way too many parenthetical remarks, and aUSA TodayBestselling Author of darkly magical tales.
I'm usually hiding in my writing cave, but I also lurk on Facebook and Instagram, and sloooowly getting into TikTok. The best way to keep up with me will be to join my Inner Circle mailing list!
https://ellecrossx.com/links
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